


Oh, Barracuda

by emilyinwonderland



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aggressive Billy Hargrove, Attempted Sexual Assault, Billy Hargrove Is an Asshole, Dominance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Good Girl / Bad Boy, Heartbreak, Intimidation, Love/Hate, Mostly Canon Compliant, Possessive Behavior, Romance, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Toxic Relationship, halloween party, pretty in pink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:53:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28351977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyinwonderland/pseuds/emilyinwonderland
Summary: Veronica Tate just moved to Hawkins, Indiana about a month ago, and even though she thought she was starting to fit in, she's got a whole new problem now that this punk, Billy Hargrove, has moved there also and is intent in making her life a living hell. After some unfortunate events that involve Billy basically threatening Veronica, she's now forced to work one-on-one with him on a science project. Will she survive their daily after-school homework dates?
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. A Pretty Man Came to Me, Never Seen Eyes So Blue

October 30, 1984

My dad drove me silently to school that day. He’d been pretty quiet since we had moved here, but today he seemed to be doing much worse. 

I knew of course that he must be incredibly busy at the plant. We hadn’t moved to Hawkins in August just because. The Department of Energy had specifically selected a few individuals, including Dad, to transfer from to Hawkins Lab. Dad was under some high security class and couldn’t exactly tell us why, but he’d made it a point to ensure that I promised I wouldn’t be out past daylight, and so my overprotective father struck again. 

But I couldn’t help but think, what was the point? Of moving here? Giving up my friends and classes back home? Just for my Dad to be gone all the time to work and for him to be too tired to even make some small talk while he drove me to school. I guess that’s how working for the federal government was. 

My eyes glazed over as I stared out the window. Although I hadn’t gotten to experience the Indiana Summer, I was beginning to have an understanding of what Fall would entail. While Northern California did get cold, I couldn’t imagine it snowing as heavily as I thought it might this far East. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the cold. But I wasn’t half-ready for that cold front. All I had on me that day was a long-sleeved denim shirt, black leggings (I wish were a lot thicker) and some black flats. It was too late to do anything about that now though; we were pulling up to Hawkins High already. 

The parking lot was crawling with students - the majority of the Seniors were driving their own cars. “Stop here. /Here/,” I emphasized. On top of my dad having to drive me to school, I didn’t need him to also drop me off in front of the entire class. I already had my license, but buying me a car had been placed on hold during the move. Hopefully the parents would change their mind once we settled in a bit. 

“Ok, Ok, I forgot,” my dad muttered. The car came to a rolling stop to the side of the main building. 

I got out of the car, slagging my backpack over my shoulder. As I walked along the side, I watched my dad drive off. He was just about to turn out of the parking lot when a blue Camaro sped into the entrance, nearly hitting him. A blaring horn sounded from my dad’s car, but the blue Camaro just continued into the lot, heading towards the back. I stopped at the corner of the building to watch the car - I was curious to see who this was that was driving so crazy. I had never seen the car before, as far as I remembered. But from my vantage point I couldn’t really see where it had parked - only a trail of dust leading into the far parking lot. 

Just then the bell rang. I only had 5 minutes to get to class and I had Botany, which was located all the way in the back building since it had to be connected to the greenhouse. I picked up my pace, slipping past the crowds in the entrance and hallways. After picking up my botany textbook from my locker, I made it to class with just a few seconds to spare before the final bell. I settled into my seat, deep in the back of the class. The set up had students separated in pairs with two-seater desks lined up in neat rows, each desk sharing a microscope, some chemical instruments, and a sink. I thankfully had an entire desk to myself - I had reassured Mr. Cramm that I’d be able to handle the workload on my own. Naturally, I preferred to work alone. I set my backpack in the extra seat like usual and began pulling my pens and notebook out. 

“Alright, today we’re going to be talking about the complex tissue systems of roots,” Mr. Cramm began. “You should all have read Chapter…ah, yes? Can I help you?” 

I looked up from writing the date in perfect cursive at the top of the pad. 

Though the lone binder clutched loosely at his side revealed his status as a student, a boy with a long, curly blonde mullet filled up the frame of the doorway with standoffish apathy. 

“I’m in your class,” he stated in a hard tone. His voice was deep and gruff, like a coal miner just off a 12-hour shift. 

“Oh..y-yes,” Mr. Cramm shuffled over to a group of papers on his desk, “you must be…Mr. William Hargrove,” he read. 

“It’s Billy,” the boy corrected, lifting his chin up high as if daring Mr. Cramm to disagree with him. 

“Alright, Billy, then. Why don’t you take a seat, ah yes, right over where Ms. Tate is.” /Damn./ Now, not only would I lose my ability to work solo, but I’d also have to babysit some obvious degenerate. 

I could spot Mr. Cramm pointing over at the me through the corner of my eyes as I carefully moved my backpack from off the chair next to me and into the crook of the desk’s legs. His acid wash jeans crinkled as he walked over. 

“Let’s move on, shall we? Uhhh…Ms. Tate, if you could please share your book with our new classmate. I’ll have to order some more copies. Alright, Chapter 8 everybody!” 

I nodded and an uncertain “sure” whispered out of me, as the new kid circled around me and slid into the seat with a loud thud. I looked over to see whether a friendly gesture could help the situation, but his eyes stared straight ahead, his body half out of his seat as if he was about to bolt any moment. 

I sighed and flipped my book to the start of Chapter 8. Hesitatingly, I edged the book a little closer to the middle, glancing over at him to see if he acknowledged the gesture. He didn’t. 

“Xylem and phloem are complex tissues designed for the transport of materials throughout the plant body…” Mr. Cramm began pulling his image-ridden chalkboards down from the ceiling, exposing labeled root parts. I pulled my notebook closer to me and began taking down some notes, but I felt a slight tickle in the back of my neck. Without turning, I looked through the corner of my eye to see that he was looking over at what I was writing. 

“Do you need something?” I whispered to him but kept writing for fear of losing the information flowing from Mr. Cramm: “Xylem transports water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the body…” He didn’t answer, so I glanced over at him. ”Nope,” he said with a smirk. I wasn’t sure what was so funny, but I ignored it and went on with my notes.

After about another ten minutes of Mr. Cramm explaining the makeup of the root systems, in which the new kid seemed to just shift between staring ahead with his arms crossed or playing with his fingernails, Mr. Cramm went on to the next class activity. 

“Ok, so I want you all to read the exercise on page 152. Afterwards, one person from each table will come up to grab the petri dishes containing the xylem and phloem and you’ll work with your partner to identify the parts using the microscopes at your desk.” 

Oh great, a team assignment. 

I leaned forward to begin reading the exercise. I was about two sentences in when I realized that Billy hadn’t moved and was still staring off into space. 

Partly out of frustration and as an experiment, I picked up the book, hovered it a few inches over and dropped it with a loud thud. Although the sound echoed in our area of the room, nobody turned to look as they were already chatting - no doubt about things other than the assignment. But I wondered if that gesture might get his attention. I checked and was met with those same bright blue eyes. I meant to say something snarky but all that came out was “S-So...are we going to do the exercise together?” 

He leaned slightly in and whispered with a greasy undertone, “Whatever you say, princess.” 

“Nice attitude,” I retorted, looking back to the exercise. “Well, could you at least make yourself useful and get the petri dishes.” He seemed to have been looking at me thinking but didn’t answer for a long five seconds. Then, without warning, he got up from the table and walked off. “Just my fucking luck...” throwing up my hands and pulling the textbook closer to me so I could finish reading the exercise. 

I was just about done reading through it when I looked back up and was surprised to see that Billy /had/ picked up the Petri dishes, but I wasn’t surprised to see that he’d taken a detour back through Stacey Henderson’s aisle. 

Stacey was a 5’0 Barbie with ultra-teased blonde hair and hot pink blush painted up her entire cheekbone. It reminded me of those animals like the peacock who displayed crazy colors in their body just to get the attention of the opposite sex. That was Stacey, among other girls here at Hawkins. She knew how to make her petite body look great in tight shirts and leggings. It was just a lot of things going all at once, but hey, it worked for her because there was Billy, not two seconds into class, drooling all over her. 

My eyes went back and forth between the reading exercise and Billy’s bent over body. But then I noticed two other girls, close friends to Stacey, watching them also and giggling like idiots. I quickly shut out the scene mentally and went back to re-read the exercise since I’d already read it but didn’t know what else to do when Billy had the dishes. 

By the time I finished re-reading, I heard familiar rustling next to me and looked up to see Billy back with the petri dishes. “Thanks..” I muttered under my breath, faint annoyance coming off.

I began setting up the microscope and dishes on the table, leaning over to his end momentarily. I could feel him watching me as I begun the exercise. Taking up the first petri dish and placing it under the microscope, I peered through the lens to study the first particle that Mr. Cramm had given us. 

I jumped when I felt him lean closer to me, his hot breath on my neck when he asked, “So, what do you know about that girl?”

I continued adjusting the microscope and casually asked, “who?” 

“Hot Blonde, 2nd row.” 

I looked up to look at Stacey again who now had her chair completely turned away from her partner and was whispering excitedly to her friends. 

“Shouldn’t you know? You were the one talking to her,” I said flippantly. I was too focused on now setting the Petri dish perfectly under the microscope to notice my slip. 

“So, then....you were watching me?”

“Watching you? No!” I said a little too urgently and looked over at him. He had a wild grin on. 

Trying to move away from that embarrassment, I went back to the Petri dish and answered hesitantly, “Um, idk...she hangs out with those two girls: Molly and Hannah...that’s about all there’s worth to know about her.” 

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head. “You sound kinda jealous.” 

“Hardly,” I scoffed. 

“What is it?” He said teasingly, leaning forward again. “She get more dates than you?” 

I rolled my eyes at him, but in an effort to not seem bothered, continued writing down the answers to the exercise. Another five minutes passed by in which he went back to sulking quietly save for a few exasperated sighs and clicking of his pencil on the desk. Any other day I would have looked up and asked him to stop, but I was determined to not allow him to get to me. 

Just then, I was forced to look up when I heard drumming along the front of my desk. It was Shawn, some guy who was in Steve’s crew - Steve being Nancy Wheeler’s boyfriend - and who made his mind early that he’d annoy me into gaining any sort of interest in him. 

“Hey, Tate.” 

“Uh…hey?” I said with confusion, looking around for Mr. Cramm who I now could see was busy dealing with another pair of students. 

It wasn’t that Shawn wasn’t attractive. He was, with curly black hair that fell perfectly over his eyes, and an athletic build since he was on the Hawkins Football team. I’m sure any of the other girls at the school would have been happy to be with Shawn, but something told me not to trust him. After all, he was a notorious flirt. 

“You coming to my party tomorrow night? Looking forward to see you there.” 

I cocked my head and forced an answer out. “Um, yeah, I’ll be there with Nancy.” Perhaps if I mentioned her, he’d know I wasn’t going for him. 

“Alright,” he grinned. “What are you dressing up as…” he began to ask when Mr. Cramm noticed he was out of his seat. “Mr. Davis, please go back to your seat.” And Shawn shuffled off. 

I was grateful he was gone and I could go back to studying the plant particles, but noticed Billy from the side of my eye.I froze and glanced at him, blushing since I realized Billy had seen the entire exchange. 

“Can I help you with something?” 

He shook his head, glancing away and chuckling softly to himself. 

“Well? Actually…” he started, turning back, “Maybe you can tell me - what’s the best place to hang out in this shit town?” 

I was surprised by the sudden question and the way he’d referred to Hawkins. I couldn’t disagree. “I wouldn’t really know.” 

“Huh really? Because something tells me you’d know pretty well.” 

I dropped my pen and turned to look at him. I felt a jolt. Crystal blue eyes stared back at me. It took me a second before I came to my senses again. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Well, it just seems to me like you and your boyfriend probably go out and you’d know.” He gestured to where Shawn was sitting a few seats up front. 

“Shawn isn’t my boyfriend.” 

“Oh, no? So, just a fling?” 

“Why do you care?” His face was now close to mine. I hadn’t been able to make out the distinct characteristics of his face before. I don’t know if the blue was so bright or if it was a result of the juxtaposition against the milky texture of his skin and those red cheeks…

Thankfully, I was saved by the bell. 

I quickly wrote my name at the top of the assignment sheet and got up to turn it in to Mr. Cramm. 

“Hold on, aren’t you going to write my name?” Billy asked. “I’ll get a 0.” 

“That’s not my problem.” I grabbed my backpack and walked off, looking back after dropping the paper off at Mr. Cramm’s desk to see Billy’s jaw clenched. 

On my way out, I smirked to myself. 


	2. You'd Have Me Down, Down, Down To My Knees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following Botany class where Veronica left Billy stunned by her actions, she bumps into him in her last period, gym class. Unfortunately, he's not too happy with her and manages to corner her in the girl's locker room.

The next two periods were uneventful, though I hadn’t expected that low life to be enrolled in Honors Math and English classes. 

I couldn’t lie to myself though once the bell rang for lunch period. I was starting to feel a little anxious coming face to face with him again. What I’d done was pretty ballsy even for me - not that I condoned copying or letting someone get away with work they hadn’t actually contributed to, but I wasn’t above letting someone get a piece of grade for just being there; it was just the guy was a complete douche and deserved it…I kept telling myself. 

I peeked my head inside the cafeteria, scanning the tables to see if I spotted the mess of blonde curls. Finding none that didn’t belong to the girls at school, I grabbed a tray and added a plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. 

Since I’d started at Hawkins, I’d mainly gravitated to only two girls. (1) Nancy Wheeler, who had been incredibly pleasant to me, and (2) Benny Hanston, a punk girl who had kind of adopted me after I revealed so much weakness in being a new girl at school. But Benny was like that. She really didn’t care what people had to say and spent most of her time insulting girls like Stacey and smoking underneath the bleachers. 

Benny never came to the cafeteria for lunch, choosing to take a smoke break instead, so I spotted Nancy and headed to her table. 

“Hey!” I grinned, setting my tray down. “Hey, how’s it going?” Nancy greeted. Sitting with us were Steve, Nancy’s boyfriend, and a guy named Joe. I nodded politely to Steve, who smiled back, but didn’t officially greet Joe. I’d gotten the distinct impression that he and his own girlfriend, Becky, were just tolerating my presence among their friend group. 

“So, I heard there’s a new kid,” Joe mentioned, picking into his meatloaf. I paused for a second, but continued to cut into my lunch. 

“Yeah, I uh...actually had him for Botany first period.” 

“Huh,” Steve said absentmindedly. “Did you catch his name?” 

But before I could answer, a loud booming voice came from across the cafeteria. “Hey, Steve! Get your ass over here!” 

“Aw, shit. It’s Dirk. I’ll be back.” And Steve took off in the direction of the voice. 

Finding my opportunity, I changed the subject. “So..Nance, have you decided what you’re gonna dress up as for Halloween?” 

Seeing his opportunity, Joe left the table and headed towards Dirk and Steve’s general location. 

“Uhh…yeah, actually! Steve and I are gonna do Risky Business.” She paused, waiting for an enthusiastic reaction.

“Uh, oh! Ohhh, cool!” I feigned excitement. I hadn’t seen the movie, and on top of that, had no urge to do so as I was already annoyed with all the guys sliding down the hallways in an effort to mimic Tom Cruise. 

“What about you?” Nancy asked. This was a question I should have expected in return but had no idea how to answer. The truth was there was a specific costume I had in mind, but I didn’t feel I could pull it off. “Oh, I don’t know. I probably won’t dress up.” It was only partly a lie. The truth was that I would probably chicken out at the last minute and not end up dressing up at all. 

“Oh, whatever! You should totally dress up. Maybe, something cool like…Madonna!” Nancy suggested. I winced. I could just imagine 20 Madonnas at the party tomorrow night, and I rather imagined myself more of a Siouxsie Sioux than a Madonna. 

“I have brown hair…” I said, cautiously. “We’ll see. Perhaps I’ll pull something together,” I lied, knowing full well that I’d probably end up showing up in just my normal clothes.   
\---  
“Well, he sounds like a real piece of shit,” Benny said, taking a long drag off of her cigarette. We were walking on the mile-long track. Me: Beads of sweat lined my brow. I could feel my cheeks hot and red while my breath struggled to catch up with itself from my run. Meanwhile, Benny had just come out of hiding from under the bleachers, and was joining me for my cool-down to take yet another smoke break. 

I had just finished retelling her the events from this morning as I’d been struggling all day in keeping it to myself. But just as I was about to talk to Nancy about it during lunch, Steve and Joe had returned to the table. Thankful, I had gym the very last class of the day with Benny. 

“Yeah, he really was,” I panted. 

Benny suddenly let out a jaunty laugh. “Well, you really fucked him over. Look at you. “ She sounded almost proud. 

I don’t know if it was because I had just run a mile and was already sweating or if what I had done suddenly hit me that I got uncontrollably hot. I laughed nervously, “Yeah…hey, let’s head inside. I think it’s too hot out here.” 

I heard a murmur of discontent come from Benny, but no more than that. She shook her blonde mane and flicked her cigarette to the blacktop before we walked into the gym. 

It took a moment before my eyes adjusted from the harsh sunlight to the warm florescence of the Hawkins gym but as soon as we’d opened the heavy doors, the sounds of basketball game came bursting through. The air was must cooler inside, leaving my skin feel refreshed. Otherwise, my senses were a bit overloaded. Not only were there sounds of dribbling and sneakers screeching on the shiny gym floor, but also a chorus of testosterone-filled yells coming from the guys on the court. 

A loud thud seemed to shake our feet. My eyes, now fully adjusted, searched for the source of the tremble. Two guys had just collided with each other, one now on the floor and the other bent over him. The one on the floor had his gym clothes on and I immediately recognized the perfectly coifed brown hair as Steve. And the other…the other? 

“Shit.” I said aloud. 

It was the new kid, Billy. Completely shirtless. His green gym shorts hanging dangerously low on his body. His hand was outstretched to provide Steve a helping hand, but I watched as he lifted him half-up, whispered something in his ear, then threw him back down. Well, looks like I wasn’t the only one on his shit list. 

And with that, Billy took the ball down the court, shooting the ball in the hoop with a perfect lay-up. He landed with a cocky grin. 

“I think I’m actually going to head to the showers early.” I told Benny, slowly backing away. 

She shrugged. “Alright. Catch you later. HEY, ZAC!” She shouted. 

/Oh, no!/ I panicked. Why did she have to be so loud in this moment. There was every chance that all, if not most, heads would turn to look for the source of noise. Zac, with his flopped over mohawk, glanced over and headed to the sideline to meet Benny. He was on the Skins team it seemed with Billy. And sure enough, Billy looked over just then to the source of noise, while I was completely frozen near the door. I saw his eyes touch on Benny, who was clearly coming from my side and then move their way over to me. 

His eyes narrowed and focused on me and his winning grin dissolved into a serious expression. Our eyes were locked for what seemed like forever. Mine only were able to break contact as they were pulled downwards. The way he was now moving forward made his perfectly chiseled body an entrancing vision. 

Shaking myself out of that reverie, I started moving back away, but as I did, I saw that he realized Zac was now speaking to Benny. As I found my way to the heavy doors again, he had reached the two - the rest of the basketball game now seemingly disbanding as it was near the end of the period. But it wasn’t before I left in a rush that the three of them glanced over at me as if - idk what - /Billy had asked about me? They were talking about me? What happened in that second?/  
\---  
20 minutes later, I was well-showered having taken my sweet time letting the hot water run along my back and take my anxiety with it. In fact, I’d taken so long that most of the girls had finished way before me. 

/What’s going to happen once I have that class again? Why did I have to do such a stupid thing like that? So stupid…/ I was so wrapped up in my inner monologue that I also took forever to get dressed. Once I was finally done dressing and spraying my favorite perfume all over, I let down my pinned up hair. 

I glanced around for Benny but nothing. Though that wasn’t peculiar. Since she never actually did gym, she never found the need to shower, instead just going in and out to dress. She’d probably gotten dressed and left all while I was in the shower. 

“Bye, Veronica!” 

“Bye, Jen!” I waved. 

The last few girls filtered out of the lockers, and with a loud bang of the door, I suddenly found myself completely alone again. Wow, first one in, last one out. I was really shaken, it seemed, though it was hard to admit it to myself. 

I sighed, grabbing my books and backpack out of my locker. I seemed to hear the noise of the door opening again in my periphery but so lost in thought, I barely registered it. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I realized someone else had entered. 

“Ah, Ms. Tate…” a gruff voice said mockingly. I jumped, slamming the locker closed with such force that it made me jump again in surprise. I spun around to see Billy leaning against the wall, his mouth turned up into a sneer. I could see that he’d also just come from the showers on the boy’s side. His curly hair was still dripping slightly and the white tee he wore under his jean jacket clung to the wet skin underneath, outlining his well-defined abs perfectly. 

“What are you doing in here?” /I/ could even hear the nervous shake in my voice. I tried again with a little more confidence. “*You’re* not supposed to be in the girl’s locker room.” 

He dropped his palm and waved it around the air, turning his head left and right with a mock confused expression. “Well, I don’t see any other girls in here. Everyone is well on their way. We’re…alone.” His voice dropped lower on that last word and he glared. A chill went through me. 

I took an involuntary step backwards and hit my locker. 

“I was waiting for you,” he whispered, coming closer. 

“Yeah? Why’s that?” 

“I think you’ll realize that you made a really big mistake this morning.” He leaned his right arm against my locker, leaning over and towering above me. I pressed my body flat, trying to avoid him though there was no way to accomplish that task. His face was now inches from mine. I could smell the familiar scent of generic brand soap coming off of him that they used to stock the student showers. 

Apparently, he was able to smell me also. “Mmmmm, strawberries.” He leaned closer, the tip of his nose running along my neck, making me shiver. “I bet you thought you were really clever.” He pulled away, his tone now changing course again to derision. He opened his mouth to say more, but I cut him off.

“Get. over. it. Ok? I fucked you over on that assignment. So, what? It’s not that big of a deal.” 

“That’s right. You fucked me over. And if there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s for little spoiled brats to think they can just go around fucking me over like that.” His voice trembled more and more with every word. I could tell he was getting angry. 

I could also feel myself getting angrier though - straight into that same place that I’d been this morning during class - that very dangerous place. “Yeah? What the hell are you going to do about it? You’re not going to do shiiii-“ 

I gasped as without warning, he slammed his other arm against the other side of the locker, right next to my face. I was now completely trapped. His face so close to mine that the tip of his nose now touched mine. My breathing was hard now as I could feel the panic setting in. 

“You don’t fucking know me.” I winced at his harsh words, and looked away, targeting the door that would take me away and back out into the parking lot. His eyes followed mine though and once caught, he used his gaze and a gentle beckoning with his finger on my chin to straighten my focus on him again. “But let me let you in a little. You would be really sorry if you got on my bad side. Trust me. “ 

I shook my head and his finger on my chin. “Get off of me, you psycho!” I yelled, and pushed his chest with my forearms. He hardly budged, though his left arm did fall away from my side, giving me a way out.

Feeling the tears beginning to well in my eyes from pure fear, I took advantage of the exit route and stepped away from him, ready to break into a run towards the door. But before I could get more than a step away, he grabbed my wrist with force. 

“Ow!” I whimpered, and he pulled me back close to him. His eyes were wide with glee in a bizarre display of power. “That’s right! I’m a psycho, Tate. And you better remember it.” 

I ripped my wrist away from him, and ran out the door. 


End file.
